KANSAS STATE 

HISTOPICAL SOCIETY 



SCHOOL LA\¥S 



w 



^ 



or 



Cities of the Second Class. 



1870 



TOPEKA. KANSAS: 

S. S. PROUTY, PUBLIC PRINTER. 
PRINTED AT THE "COMMONWEALTH" STATE PRINTING HOUSE. 

1870. 



K^ S'<i^/ACi Xjlo f -^J^ 



SCHOOL LAWS 



OF 



Cities of the Second Class, 



1870 



TOPEKA. KANSAS: 

S. S. PROUTY, PUBLIC PRINTER. 
PRINTED AT THE "COMMONWEALTH" STATE PRINTING HOUSE. 

1870. 



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P R K in ^ C E 



In view of the fact that our towns are rapidly developing into cities of the second class, 
■whose Bchools are governed by special acts, and inasmuch as it is very desirable that each 
member of the Board of Education should be furnished with a copy of the law prescribing 
his duties, I have prepared this pamphlet, containing all the acts and parts of acts relat- 
ing to the school interests of cities of the second class at this date. 

P. McVICAR, 
Siatt Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
TopEKA, Kansas, July 5, 1870. 



.OCT 1905 



LAWS REGULATING SCHOOLS IN CITIES OF 
THE SECOND CLASS. 



[Note.— That part of the act to incorporate cities of the second class, pertaining to 
public schools, as approved February 28, 1868, and amended March, 1870, is as follows :] 

Section 54. In each city governed by this act, there 
shall be established and maintained a system of free com- 
mon schools, which shall be kept open not less than three 
nor more than ten months in any one year, and shall be 
free to all children residing in such city, between the 
ages of ^ye and twenty-one years. 

Sec. 55. At each annual city election, there shall be 
a board of education, consisting of two members from 
each ward, elected by the qualified voters thereof, one of 
whom shall be elected annually, and shall hold his office 
for the term of two years, and until his successor is elected 
and qualified : Provided, That at the first election held 
under this act, the entire board shall be elected, one of 
whom from each ward shall serve for the term of one year 
and the other for the term of two years. 

Sec. 56. The board of education shall have power to 
fill any vacancy which may occur in their body : Provided, 
That any vacancy occurring more than ten days previous 
to the annual election, and having an unexpired term of 
one year, shall be filled at the first election thereafter; 
and the ballots and returns of election shall be designated 
as follows: "To fill unexpired term." 

Sec. 57. The board of education shall have power to 
elect their own officers, make their own rules and regula- 



tione, subject to the provisions of this article, to organize 
and maintain a system of graded schools, to provide sep- 
arate schools for the education of colored and white chil- 
dren, to establish a high school whenever, in their opinion, 
the educational interests of the city demand the same, and 
to exercise the sole control over the schools and school 
property of the city. 

Sec. 58. The board of education, at its regular 
meeting in May of each year, shall organize by the elec- 
tion of a president and vice president from among its own 
members, each of whom shall serve for the term of one 
year, or until their successors are elected and qualified; 
they shall also elect a clerk and treasurer, who shall hold 
their office during the pleasure of the board, and who 
shall receive such compensation for their services as the 
board may allow. 

Sec. 59. It shall be the duty of the president to pre- 
side at all meetings of the board of education, to appoint 
all committees whose appointment is not otherwise pro- 
vided for, and to sign all warrants ordered by the board of 
education to be dravm upon the treasurer for school 
moneys. 

Sec. 60. It shall be the duty of the vice president to 
perform all the duties of the president, in case of his 
absence or disabilit}\ 

Sec. 61. It shall be the duty of the clerk to be present 
at all meetings of the board, to keep an accurate journal 
of its proceedings, to take charge of its books and docu- 
ments, to countersign all warrants for school moneys 
drawn upon the treasury by order of the board of educa- 
tion, and perform such other duties as the board of edu- 
cation or its committees may require. 

Sec 62. Before entering upon the discharge of his 
duties, the clerk of the board of education shall give bond. 



in the sum of one thousand dollars, with good and suffi- 
cent sureties, to be approved by the board, and shall take 
and subscribe an oath or affirmation, before a proper 
officer, that he will support the constitution of the United 
States, the constitution of the State of Kansas, and faith- 
fully perform the duties of his office. 

Sec. 63. The treasurer shall prepare and submit, in 
writing, a monthly report of the state of the finances of 
the district, and shall, when required, produce, at any 
meeting of the board, or to any committee appointed for 
the purpose of examining his accounts, all books and pa- 
pers pertaining to his office; he shall pay moneys only 
upon a warrant signed by the president, or in his absence 
by the vice president, and countersigned by the clerk, and 
shall execute a bond, in such sum as the board may re- 
quire, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the 
board, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duties 
as treasurer to said board. 

Sec. 64. 'No member of the board of education shall 
receive any pay or emolument for his services as such. 

Sec. 65. The board of education, at such times as 
they shall deem expedient, shall elect a superintendent of 
schools, whose duty it shall be to have a general super- 
vision of the schools of the city, subject to the rules and 
regulations of the board, who shall hold his office during 
the pleasure of the board, and shall receive such compen- 
sation as that body may allow; the board shall also ap- 
point two competent persons, who, with the superinten- 
dent as chairman thereof, shall be styled the examining 
committee of the board of education, whose duty it shall 
be to examine all persons who may apply to them as 
teachers; and no person shall be selected by the board as 
teacher who cannot produce a certificate from the exam- 
ining committee, signed by all or a majority of them, 
and setting forth that such a person is competent to teach 



6 

in such department of the public schools as may be stated 
in the certificate, and is a person of good moral character. 

Sec. 66. The board of education shall have power to 
fill any vacancy which may occur in the examining com- 
mittee. 

Sec. 67. The board of education shall, on or before 
the 15th da}^ of August, of each year, levy a tax for the 
support of the schools of the city for the fiscal year next 
ensuing, not exceeding, in any one year, six mills on the 
dollar, on all personal, mixed and real property within 
the district, which is taxable according to the laws of the 
State of Kansas, which levy the clerk of the board shall 
certify to the county clerk, who is hereby authorized and 
required to place the same on the tax roll of said county, 
to be collected by the treasurer of the county as are other 
taxes, and paid over by him to the treasurer of the board 
of education, of whom he shall take receipts in duplicate, 
one of which he shall file in his office and the other he 
shall forthwith transmit to the clerk of the board of edu- 
cation. 

Sec 68. All taxes collected for the benefit of the 
schools shall be paid in money, and shall be placed in the 
hands of the treasurer, subject to the order of the board 
of education. 

Sec. 69. The whole city shall compose a school dis- 
trict for the purposes of taxation. 

Sec 70, The regular meetings of the board of educa- 
tion shall be upon the first Monday of each month, but 
special meetings may be held from time to time as cir- 
cumstances may demand. 

Sec 71. The board of education, at the close of each 
school year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, shall 
make an annual repoi-t of the progress, prosperity and 
condition, financial as well as educational, of all the 



schools under their charge, and said report, or such por- 
tion of it as the board of education shall consider of ad- 
vantage to the public, shall be printed, either in a public 
newspaper or in pamphlet form. 

Sec. 72. ITo expenditure involving an amount greater 
than two hundred dollars shall be made except in accord- 
ance with the provisions of a written contract; and no 
contract involving an expenditure of more than five hun- 
dred dollars for the purpose of erecting any public build- 
ings, or making any improvements, shall be made except 
upon sealed proposals, and to the lowest responsible 
bidder. 

Sec. 73. ^o sectarian doctrine shall be taught or in- 
culcated in any of the public schools of the city, but the 
Holy Scriptures, without note or comment, may be used 
therein. 

Sec. 74. Whenever it shall become necessary by the 
board of education, in order to raise sufficient funds for 
the purchase of a school site or sites, or to erect a suitable 
building or buildings thereon, or to fund any bonded in- 
debtedness of district, it shall be lawful for the board of 
education of every city, coming under the provisions of 
this act, to borrow money, for which they are hereby 
authorized and empowered to issue bonds, bearing a rate 
of interest not exceeding ten per cent, per annum, pay- 
able annually or semi-annually, at such place as may be 
mentioned upon the face of said bonds, which, bonds shall 
be payable in not more than twenty years from their date, 
and the board of education is hereby authorized and em- 
powered to sell such bonds at not less than eighty-five 
cents on the dollar; Provided, That no bonds shall be 
issued until the question shall be submitted to the people, 
and a majority of the qualified electors, who shall vote on 
the question at an election called for that purpose, shall 
have declared by their votes in favor of issuing such 
bonds. 



8 

Sec. 75. The bonds, the issuance of which is provided 
for in the foregoing section, shall be signed by the presi- 
dent and clerk of the board of education, and counter- 
signed by the treasurer; and said bonds shall specify the 
rate of interest, and the time when principal and interest 
shall be paid, and each bond so issued shall be for a sum 
not less than fifty dollars. 

Sec. 76, The board of education at the time of its 
annual levy of taxes for the support of schools, as provided 
in section 67 of this act, as hereinbefore amended, shall 
also levy a sufficient amount to pay the interest, as the 
same accrues, on all bonds issued under the provisions of 
this act, and also to create a sinking fund for the redemp- 
tion of said bonds, which it shall levy and collect in addi- 
tion to the rate per cent, authorized by the provisions of 
said section for school purposes; and said amount of 
funds, when paid into the treasury, shall be and remain 
a specific fund for said purpose only; and shall not be 
appropriated in any other way except as hereinafter pro- 
vided. 

Sec 77. All moneys raised for the purpose of crea- 
ting a sinking fund for the final redemption of all bonds 
issued under this article, shall be invested annually by 
the board of education, in bonds of the State of Kansas, 
or in the United States bonds, or the board may buy and 
cancel the bonds of the district whenever such may be 
purchased at or below par. 

Sec. 78. Whenever the interest of the above men- 
tioned bonds shall become due, it shall be promptly paid 
by the treasurer out of money in his hands collected for 
that purpose. 

Sec 79. The school fund and property of such city 
is hereby pledged to the payment of the interest and 
principal of the bonds mentioned in this article, as the 
same may become [due.] 



9 

Sec. 80. It shall be tlie duty of the clerk of the 
board of education to register, in a book provided for 
that purpose, the bonds issued under this article and all 
warrants issued by the board, which said register shall 
show the number, date, and amount, and to whom made 
payable. 



[Supplemental provisions of act approved March 1, 1870] 
Section 1. Every school district, organized in pursu- 
ance of this act, shall be a body corporate, and shall pos- 
sess the usual powers of a corporation for public purposes, 

by the name and style of school district ^o. , of the 

county of , of the State of Kansas, and in that name 

may sue and be sued, and be capable of contracting and 
being contracted with, of holding and conveying such 
real and personal estate as it may come into possession 
of, by will or otherwise, or as is authorized to be pur- 
chased by the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the mayor of each city, 
governed by this act, upon the request of the board of 
education, forthwith to call an election, to be conducted 
in all respects as are the elections for city officers in the 
same cities, except that the returns shall be made to the 
board of education, for the purpose of taking the sense 
of such district upon the question of issuing such bonds, 
naming in the proclamation for such election, the amount 
of bonds asked for, and the purpose for which they are 
to be issued. 



[Provisions of act a,pproved May, 1861, section 70, page 928, 
General Statutes.'] 
Sec. 70. The public schools of any city, town or vil- 
lage, which may be regulated by special law, set forth in 



10 

the charter of such citj, town or village, shall be entitled 
to receive their proportion of the public school fund: 
Provided, The clerk of the board of education in such 
city, town or village, shall make due report within the 
time and manner prescribed in this act, to the County 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

020 313 092 2 



